Elevate Community becomes reality, to hold dedication on May 30

Elevate Community, a tiny home community adjacent to Elevate Branson, has been in the planning stages for several years. Now the project is becoming a reality. Elevate Community will be the first of its kind in the Branson/Lakes region and one of the largest permanent tiny home developments in the country. Elevate Community began as a vision, along with a sketch on a napkin in 2019. Subsequent years were spent securing $2.9 million in public grants for the project's infrastructure and tiny homes.

"The original five-acre site had to be increased to 18 acres to meet sewage needs in 2022," explained Bryan Stallings, Elevate Community Developer and co-founder of Elevate Branson, along with his wife, Amy. "Federal funding requires several cultural and environmental reviews, in addition to local permitting, code compliance and approvals. In 2024, the project went out for bid, and in January of 2025, excavation began. This month, site work is nearing completion, much of the infrastructure is in place, and tiny home foundations are being poured. The first tiny home arrived on site on May 14 by semi-truck trailer, and five more are expected to be delivered one by one and be on site by May 30, weather permitting."

The tiny home community will provide safe, independent and sustainable housing for low-income individuals and couples in the Branson area and offer an affordable alternative to extended stay housing in motels. However, the project will offer residents more than just a place to live. Said Stallings, "With Elevate Branson nearby, residents will have easy access to counseling, health assessments, job skills training, transportation options and other support service designed to help neighbors help themselves to a better, sustainable quality of life."

Those in the lower-income brackets, who have been residents of Taney County for at least the last 12 months, are invited to apply to relocate to Elevate Community. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and provide identification and proof of income.

"A careful screening process will assess applicant suitability and willingness to adhere to the rules and obligations of neighborhood living," Stalling explained. "Elevate Community uses an established, state-wide system with extensive databases to assure reliability. Valid social security cards or similar government-issued identification or fingerprint documentation are utilized for extensive background checks, including credit, eviction and criminal history. No one who has committed a crime against a person, has any requirement for sex offender registration, or has a pattern of behavior which may interfere with the health, safety, or peaceful enjoyment of the premises by others will be allowed to live at Elevate Community."

The application for Elevate Community housing can be found online at: https://elevatebranson.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TinyHomeApplication_Feb2025.pdf

Elevate Community is holding a dedication ceremony on Friday, May 30, at the construction site, adjacent to Elevate Branson, at 310 Gretna Road. The ceremony will include comments from project advocates, elected officials and community leaders. The site will be blessed by the Most Reverend Edward M. Rice, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. A tree will be planted to mark the occasion, and those attending will have the opportunity to tour a tiny home and see the construction work in progress. The dedication will begin at 4 p.m.

Stallings said, "Elevate Community is only possible thanks to the caring and generous support of our partners who have contributed more than $1 million in goods, services and financial support to make the dream of safe, clean and affordable housing a reality for our friends and neighbors in the Branson community. We are committed to welcoming the first residents to Elevate Community in 2026.”